E5.5 Subalpine moist or wet tall-herb and fern fringe

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "E5.5 Subalpine moist or wet tall-herb and fern fringe"

Matthew Todd
5 years ago
Views:

the mountain ranges of Europe, having their optimum in the subalpine zone but also occurring in the arctic lowlands of Scandinavia.

1 European Red List of Habitats Grasslands Habitat Group E5.5 Subalpine moist or wet tallherb and fern fringe Summary This habitat includes tall forb and fern communities of moist, fertile soils in relatively cool and humid situations through high levels of the mountain ranges of Europe, having their optimum in the subalpine zone but also occurring in the arctic lowlands of Scandinavia. Typically they are found as strips along streams and on the edges of forests, in the shelter of large rocks, on mountain ledges and under scrub, sometimes also fringing snowbeds where they benefit from protection from winter frosts. These communities are often very rich in species and host many local and regional endemics, as well as widespread montane plants. Although vulnerable to grazing by wild herbivores and stock, the habitat is often protected by its remoteness. However, also included here are the rather weedy and eutrophic tallforb communities near resting places of cattle. Only small losses in extent and quality have been reported. Synthesis This habitat type is not threatened in both EU8 and EU8+. Overall Category & Criteria EU 8 EU 8+ Red List Category Red List Criteria Red List Category Red List Criteria Least Concern Least Concern Subhabitat types that may require further examination There are no subtypes in need for further examination. Habitat Type Code and name E5.5 Subalpine moist or wet tallherb and fern fringe Striking species like Cirsium appendiculatum and Angelica pancici may dominate tall herb communities in the mountains of Vezhen Peak in the Central Balkan National Park in Bulgaria (Photo: Rossen Tzonev). The purpleflowering Adenostyles alliariae, here in the National park Malá Fatra in Slovakia, is the namegiving species of the alliance Adenostylion alliariae (Photo: Jürgen Dengler). Habitat description The tall forb communities of Habitat type E5.5 are found at relatively cool and humid places in low and high mountain ranges throughout Europe, with their optimum in the subalpine zone; moreover, they can be found in the arctic regions of Scandinavia. They can be seen as a vicariant of the communities of 1

2 habitat type E5.4, occurring at lower altitudes. In the mountains of Central Europe, the communities usually occur above 1,000 m altitude, but in Southern Europe they often don t grow below 1,600 m. The stands occur along streams, between large rocks, under scrub (mainly of Sorbus aucuparia), in mosaic with Alnus and Salix scrub, and on the edge of forests. In spite of the high atmospheric humidity, bryophytes do not play an important role in the vegetation. At all these places, snow may accumulate during winter and the vegetation is unmistakeably chionophilous. Along streams, the communities may form long strips of hundreds of meters, mostly just a few meters wide, at other places they occur in the form of patches. The height of the generally onelayered stand reaches up to 1.5 m, with tall herbs and grasses as dominants, sometimes with a high cover of ferns. The cover of the vegetation is almost always 100%. The species composition of the plant communities is very diverse, with a high number of endemic species, reflecting the isolated position of these ecosystems, similar to other highmountain vegetation types. The endemic species belong to genera like Aconitum, Alchemilla, Angelica, Cirsium, Geum and Ranunculus. From a historicgeographic point of view, the occurrence of a number of species that nowadays dominate lowland meadows is interesting, like Arrhenatherum elatius. Widespread species in these conspicuous mountain communities are Adenostyles alliariae, Veratrum album, Lilium martagon and Cicerbita alpina, among others. The plant diversity is reflected in the distinction of various alliances, but they all belong to the class MulgedioAconitetea. Most of the communities are natural, but also the semiruderal and eutrophic tallforb communities near resting places of cattle (assigned to the alliance Rumicion alpini) belong to this habitat type. Indicators of good quality: High species richness Richness of regional endemics and rare species Lacking of invasive and/or ruderal species Dominance of tallherbs, tall grasses or ferns Characteristic species: Vascular plants: Achillea distans, Achillea grandifolia, Aconitum lamarkii, Aconitum lycoctonum subsp. vulparia, Aconitum napellus, Aconitum nevadense, Aconitum tauricum, Aconitum vulparia, Aconogonon alpinum, Adenostyles alliariae, Adenostyles briquetii, Alchemilla glabra, Alchemilla glaucescens, Alchemilla obtusa, Alchemilla plicatula, Allium schoenoprasum, Allium victorialis, Angelica pancicii, Aquilegia bernardii, Aquilegia pyrenaica subsp. cazorlensis, Athyrium distentifolium, Athyrium filixfemina, Aruncus dioicus, Atropa baetica, Betonica jacquinii, Blechnum spicant, Calamagrostis arundinacea, Campanula serrata, Campanula trachelium subsp. athoa, Cardamine raphanifolia subsp. acris, Cardamine rivularis, Carduus personata, Carex frigida, Carex vulpina, Carum carvi, Chaerophyllum byzantinum, Chaerophyllum villarsii, Cerinthe glabra, Cicerbita alpina, Cicerbita plumieri, Cicerbita pancicii, Cirsium appendiculatum, Cirsium erisithales, Cirsium helenioides, Cirsium flavispina, Cirsium spinosissimum, Cirsium tymphaeum, Chaerophyllum aureum, Crepis paludosa, Dactylorhiza cordigera, Dactyorhiza saccifera, Delphinium elatum, Digitalis grandiflora, Doronicum austriacum, Doronicum columnae, Doronicum corsicum, Doronocum grandiflorum, Draba nemorosa, Dryopteris dilatata, Epilobium alpinum, Epilobium montanum, Erica terminalis, Eryngium alpinum, Heracleum elegans, Heracleum pyrenaicum, Heracleum ternatum, Heracleum transsilvanicum, Heracleum verticillatum, Hypericum corsicum, Hypericum tetrapterum, Festuca carpatica, Gagea fragifera, Gentiana asclepiadea, Gentiana lutea, Gentiana punctata, Geranium asphodeloides, Geranium palustre, Geranium phaeum, Geranium sylvaticum, Geum coccineum, Geum rivale, Lactuca alpina, Laserpitium latifolium, Laserpitium longiradium, Leucanthemum waldsteinii, Leuzea rhapontica, Lilium martagon, Lunaria rediviva, Molopospermum peloponesiacum, Myositis alpestris, Myosotis soleirolii, Narcissus nevadensis, Narthecium reverchonii, Oreopteris limbosperma, Pedicularis foliosa, Peucedanum ostruthium, Pinguicula balcanica, Pinguicula corsica, Phleum alpinum, Phyteuma ovatum, Poa supina, Polygonatum verticillatum, Prenanthes purpurea, Ranunculus aconitifolius, Ranunculus lanuginosus, Ranunculus platanifolius, Rhodiola rosea, Rumex alpinus, Rumex arifolius, Rumex

3 pseudoalpinus, Salix helvetica, Salix lapponum, Saxifraga rotundifolia, Scrophularia auriculata, Scrophularia scopolii, Senecio alpinus, Senecio elodes, Senecio nemorensis, Senecio subalpinus, Telekia speciosa, Thalictrum aquilegifolium, Tozzia alpina, Trichophorum cespitosum, Trisetum fuscum, Trollius europaeus, Valeriana pyrenaica, Valeriana rotundifolia, Veratrum album, Viola biflora. Classification This habitat may be equivalent to, or broader than, or narrower than the habitats or ecosystems in the following typologies. EUNIS: E5.5 Subalpine moist or wet tallherb and fern stands EuroVegChecklist (alliances): Adenostylion alliariae Br.Bl. 196 nom. conserv. propos. DryopteridoAthyrion distentifolii (Holub ex Sýkora et Štursa 1973) Jeník et al Delphinion elati Hadac ex Hadac et al Cirsion flavispinae Quézel 1953 Doronicion corsici Gamisans 1975 Cirsion appendiculati Horvat et al Calamagrostion villosae Pawlowski et al. 198 Trisetion fusci Krajina 1933 Calamagrostion arundinaceae (Luquet 196) Oberd Petasition officinalis Sillinger 1933 AruncoPetasition albae Br.Bl. et Sutter 1977 Senecionion samniti Bonin 1978 Rumicion alpini Rübel ex Scharfetter 1938 Mulgedion alpini rdhagen 1943 Polemonio acutifloriveratrion lobeliani Telyatnikov 01 Triseto sibiricaeaconition septentrionalis Ermakov et al. 000 Annex I: 6430 Hydrophilous tall herb fringe communities of plains and of the montane to alpine levels Emerald: E5.5 Subalpine moist or wet tallherb and fern stands MAES: Grassland IUCN: 4.4. Temperate grassland 3

4 Does the habitat type present an outstanding example of typical characteristics of one or more biogeographic regions? Yes Regions Alpine Justification The habitat is widespread, but restricted to mountain ranges, with main occurrences in the Alps but also widespread in other mountain ranges. Geographic occurrence and trends or Presence Uncertain EU 8 Austria Current area of Recent trend in habitat quantity (last 50 yrs) 50 Km Bulgaria 47 Km Croatia 35 Km Czech Republic Finland France 8 Km Finland mainland: 1 Km France mainland: Germany 750 Km 10 Km Greece Greece (mainland and other islands): 8 Km Ireland 1 Km Italy Italy mainland: Poland Romania Slovakia Slovenia 6 Km Spain mainland: UK United Kingdom: EU 8 + Albania 30 Km 4 Km Spain 160 Km Recent trend in quality (last 50 yrs) Increasing Unknown Unknown 90 Km 30 Km 3 Km or Presence Uncertain Current area of habitat Recent trend in quantity (last 50 yrs) Recent trend in quality (last 50 yrs) Km Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 Km Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Km Unknown Kaliningrad Km Kosovo Km Montenegro Km rway rway Mainland: Km Serbia Km Switzerland 150 Km 4

of Occurrence, Area of Occupancy and habitat area of Occurrence (EOO) Area of Occupancy (AOO) Current estimated Total Area Comment EU 8 675000 Km 457 1453 Km EU 8+ 7038800 Km 4458 75 Km Distribution

5 of Occurrence, Area of Occupancy and habitat area of Occurrence (EOO) Area of Occupancy (AOO) Current estimated Total Area Comment EU Km Km EU Km Km Distribution map Map is rather complete except for the Balkan and possibly Iceland. Data sources: EVA, Art17, GBIF. How much of the current distribution of the habitat type lies within the EU 8? About 80% of the current distribution of the habitat type lies within EU8. The habitat type is probably also found in the Kaukasus and Russian mountains. Trends in quantity The total area that has been reported by the territorial data providers is 1,453 km for EU8 and,75 km for EU8+. Quantitative data were provided by 14 EU countries, covering > 95% of reported area, and by 3 additional EU+ countries. Data dominated strongly by France and (for EU8+) Switzerland, who reported the largest areas. The average trend fot EU8 is 8.0%, for EU8+ it is 4. %. Average current trend in quantity (extent) EU 8: Increasing EU 8+: Does the habitat type have a small natural range following regression? Justification The EOO is larger than 50,000 km. Does the habitat have a small natural range by reason of its intrinsically restricted area? 5

6 Justification The habitat type has a wide distrubution througout Europe (it has been reported from all together 5 countries). The size and form of the surfaces vary from long, small bands to (in size vary variable) patches. Trends in quality We received quantitative data from 13 EU8 countries and 4 additional EU8+ countries, covering more than 95% of reported area for EU8 and EU8+. The trends are mostly by France and Switzerland, accounting for the largest areas. The averages values of decline are 4.3% ( 35%) for EU8 and.3% ( 35%) for EU8+. Average current trend in quality EU 8: EU 8+: Pressures and threats These more or less natural communities are rather stable in extent and quality, hardly suffering from any threats. The only factor that may cause some problems is overgrazing. This concerns both the low and high mountains in Central Europe and the arctic vegetation in the north, where local changes have been reported due to overgrazing by reindeer. However, it is assumed that the overall quality of the habitat type has remained stable. At local level, mountaineering and the construction of facilities for tourism (ski pistes, houses) may result in some losses. List of pressures and threats Agriculture Intensive grazing Human intrusions and disturbances Mountaineering & rock climbing Conservation and management The natural conditions under which these eyecatching and speciesrich communities occur are hardly effected by human interaction. Locally, the effects of mountaineering and construction of buildings and ski pistes for tourism may rise some concern, but overall the habitat type is wellpreserved. List of conservation and management needs measures measures needed for the conservation of the habitat/species Conservation status Annex 1 type: 6430: ALP U1, ATL U, BLS U1, BOR U1, CON U1, MED U1, PAN U, STE FV (only applying to mountainous areas, generally 1,000 m altitude, and arctic regions in Scandinavia). When severely damaged, does the habitat retain the capacity to recover its typical character and functionality? 6

7 These natural communities are well protected. Only at a local level and at low scale, direct destrucion of the habitat by the construction of tourist facilities may take place, whereas more generally overgrazing may lead to some losses in quality. In that case, lowering the intensity of grazing may lead the habitat restoration within a reasonable timespan. Effort required 0 years Through intervention Red List Assessment Criterion A: Reduction in quantity Criterion A A1 Aa Ab A3 EU % EU % The values for applying Criterion A1 are calculated from the territorial data sheets. We obtained quantitative data from 14 EU countries, covering > 95% of the reported area, plus from 3 additional EU+ countries; data are strongly dominated by France and (for EU8+) Switzerland, who reported the largest areas. data available for applying Criteria Aa, Ab and A3. Criterion B: Restricted geographic distribution B1 Criterion B EU 8 EU 8+ EOO B B3 a b c AOO a b c > Km > 50 > 50 > Km EOO and AOO are above thresholds for applying Criterion B. Criterion C and D: Reduction in abiotic and/or biotic quality Criteria C/D C/D1 C/D C/D3 EU % 35 % EU 8+.3 % 35 % C1 Criterion C C C3 EU 8 EU 8+ D1 Criterion D D D3 EU 8 EU 8+ 7

8 The values for C/D1 are calculated from the territorial data sheets. We obtained quantitative data from 13 EU8 countries and 4 additional EU8+ countries, covering more than 95% of the reported area for EU8 and EU8+; the trends are mostly by France (EU8) and Switzerland (EU8+), accounting for the largest areas. Criterion E: Quantitative analysis to evaluate risk of habitat collapse Criterion E Probability of collapse EU 8 unknown EU 8+ unknown There is no quantitative analysis available that estimates the probability of collapse of this habitat type. Overall assessment "Balance sheet" for EU 8 and EU 8+ A1 Aa Ab A3 B1 B B3 C/D1 C/D C/D3 C1 C C3 D1 D D3 E EU8 EU8+ Overall Category & Criteria EU 8 EU 8+ Red List Category Red List Criteria Red List Category Red List Criteria Least Concern Least Concern Confidence in the assessment Medium (evenly split between quantitative data/literature and uncertain data sources and assured expert knowledge) Assessors J. Schaminée Contributors Habitat definition: R. Tzonev & J. Schaminée Territorial data: E. Agrillo, S. Armiraglio, S. Assini, F. Attore, A.B.G. Averis, A.M. Averis, Z. Barina, C. BitaNicolae, J. Bölöni, G. Buffa, A. Čarni, L. Casella, R. Delarze, D. Gigante, P. Finck, M. Janišová, Juvan, Z. Kącki, M. Kočí, T. Kontula, J. Loidi, C. Marcenò, V. Matevski, A. Mikolajczak, Đ. Milanović, F. Millaku, D. Paternoster, P. Perrin, G. Pezzi, U. Raths, U. Riecken, V. Rusakova, Z. Škvorc, A. Ssymank, D. Viciani Working Group Grasslands: I. Biurrun, J. Dengler, D. Gigante, Z. Molnar, D. Paternoster, J. Rodwell, J. Schaminée, R. Tzonev Reviewers D. Gigante Date of assessment 03/04/016 Date of review 4/04/016 References Carbiener, R. (1969). Subalpiene primären Hochgrasprärien im herzynischen Gebirgsraum Europas, mit 8

9 besonderer Berücksichtiging der Vogesen uns des Massif Central. Mitt. FloristSoziol. Arbeitsgem. N.F. 14: Schaminée, J.H.J., J. Jansen & S.M. Hennekens (199). Scrub communities dominated by Sorbus species in the subalpine zone of the Monts du Forez (Massif Central, France). Proceedings of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen C 95 (4): Wörz, A. (1989). Zur geographischen Gliederung hovhmantaner und subalpinen Hochstaudenfluren und Goldhaferwiesen. Tuexenia 9:

H4.2 Ice cap and glacier

H4.2 Ice cap and glacier European Red List of Habitats - Screes Habitat Group H4. Ice cap and glacier Summary Ice sheets and ice caps are permanent or near-permanent dome-like ice masses unconstrained by topography. Developing